Man dies after arrest by Fort Morgan Police

Suspected in home invasion, assault before arrest

Posted:
08/23/2013 12:32:49 PM MDT

Updated:
08/23/2013 12:34:05 PM MDT

A 30-year-old Fort Morgan man died after being taken into custody by Fort Morgan Police Department officers early Friday morning.The deceased was positively identified through fingerprints as Rick Santistevan, 30, of Fort Morgan, according to Morgan County Coroner Don Heer. Santistevan’s family has been notified, Heer said Friday morning.Santistevan ran from police and resisted arrest before he was taken into custody. He was suspected in a home invasion and the assault of another man before his arrest.Two FMPD officers initially responded to a report of a prowler in a home in the 700 block of Prospect Street at 12:31 a.m. Friday. The caller said the man walked into the home and was behaving erratically, but the man had left before the call to police was placed.The responding officers encountered Santistevan in the east alley of the 800 block of Prospect, and officers reported he was agitated and acting irrationally. He refused to cooperate with police and started to run, and a Taser was deployed in an attempt to stop him but was ineffective.Officers pursued Santistevan and physically took him to the ground, where he continued to resist arrest. Officers were eventually able to place him in handcuffs, and when they rolled him over onto his back they realized he had stopped breathing. The officers immediately began to administer CPR and called for an ambulance.A third officer arrived with an automated external defibrillator, but attempts to revive Santistevan were unsuccessful.

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He was transported by ambulance to Colorado Plains Medical Center, where CPR continued before he was pronounced dead.After Santistevan was taken into custody officers learned he had allegedly assaulted another man between the time of the initial prowler call and his arrest. The person was assaulted in the 700 block of Prospect Street and sustained serious bodily injuries. He was flown to Denver for medical treatment.The Thirteenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office are conducting the investigation involving Santistevan’s death. Heer said an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.Anyone who may have any information that might assist with the investigation is asked to contact the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office at 970-867-2461.

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